Florida Governor Just Says No to PBS Funding
 

Florida Governor Just Says No to PBS Funding

By Don Irvine | May 30, 2011
Florida Gov. Rick Scott continued his assault on what he considers wasteful government spending in the Sunshine state with his veto of the state’s nearly $4.8 million appropriation for public broadcasting.
According to the New York Times if the funding isn’t restored some PBS stations could shut down:
That figure had already been reduced by 30 percent from the amount broadcasters received last year. With the cuts, each of 13 public radio stations will lose $87,287 in state funds compared with last year, and each of the 13 public television stations will lose a subsidy of $434,837. Stations receive the same subsidy, regardless of size.
“For me, it is critical; for a small station it might be catastrophic,” said Rick Schneider, president and chief executive of Miami’s WPBT-TV. He said there was “no doubt that people are going to have to look at layoffs” and that he would not be surprised if some stations were shut down. The broadcasters will work to get the funds reinstated, he said.
That may be easier than said since Scott vetoed $615 million in what he called special interest spending before signing the state’s new budget.
If PBS wants some or all of it’s taxpayer funding back then they should make a concerted effort to balance its programming to better serve the public which it has so richly fed off of for decades.
Only then will we see if the network is interested in serving the public good or wishes to remain an outlet for liberal views to a limited audience.
http://www.aim.org/don-irvine-blog/f...to-pbs-funding